Annabel Acton - Never Liked It Anyway: A Fun and Feisty Guide to Beating the Breakup Blues

Praise for Never Liked It Anyway

A healthy and fun distraction from a messy situation. Its time to move ON with the help of this book. Bri Emery, DesignLoveFest

Anyone who is creating anything should read this book, slowly, and savor it, a great way to Bounce back from a breakup or any major life change, even selling your company. Lizanne Falsetto, founder of thinkThin

Its time to put down that waterproof mascara! Never Liked It Anyway is the one-stop-shop for turning your break-up into the best thing thats ever happened to you. Bitter break-ups are so 2010. Whether youre broken hearted or just looking to reinvigorate your life, who knew moving on could be so fun? Taryn Southern, entertainer

Praise for Never Liked It Anyway.com

Every recently dumped person needs this website. Buzzfeed

There are plenty of apps and dating sites out there for those looking to fall in love, but what happens when those relationships crash and burn? One entrepreneur aims to help you through your breakupsand make some money along the way. CNBC

If youve recently dumped or been dumped and are in need of some emotional and financial support, this site might be just right for you. Refinery 29

This is a genius idea. Adrienne Bailon, singer-songwriter, actress, and cohost of The Real

Why let that tear-stained, boxed-up wedding dress in the garage go to the moths when you can cash in on it? A new start-up site, NeverLikedItAnyway.com, allows the brokenhearted to sell the objects that remain after a splitthink wedding gowns, rings, and morewhile venting about their exes. Huffington Post

We all go through it! Why not make the best of it (and maybe earn some dough)? Shape Magazine

The site turns online social networks into a potential lifeline. It is the digital version of throwing your exs stuff onto the street for a profit. New York Times

Copyright 2017 by Annabel Acton

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

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Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Jenny Zemanek

Cover photo credit by iStockphoto

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-1758-9

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-1756-5

Printed in China

Dedicated to

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

Shakeup Your Breakup

Dating has evolved like wildfire, with a bunch of apps that make shopping for a partner as easy as shopping for a killer clutch. Yet, bizarrely, the humble breakup has failed to move past pajamas, ice cream, Kleenex, and watching The Notebook on loop. Breakups need a massive shakeup. This realization (and a breakup) inspired NeverLikedItAnyway.coma website where people could offload all their once-loved gifts from once-loved lovers. The idea was simple: sell all the breakup baggage that reminds you of your ex and use the money to buy something that will make you feel wonderful again. Our sellers sell their item, tell their story, share their plan for spending the money they make, and off they go! And it struck a chord. People have sold all sorts of spectacular stufffrom rings to bags to wedding dresses, cars, Harley Davidsons, honeymoon packages, BB guns, a Chewbacca maskand even a bottle of ketchup.

When people hear about Never Liked It Anyway, theyre hit by an uncontrollable urge to share their very own story of splattered hearts and unwanted stuff. And then they want to know how I came up with this oddball idea. My story went something like this.

A long time ago in New York, my ex and I broke up. Theres never really a great time for it, but this one happened a few days before Christmas. A few days before we were meant to fly to London to get merry with his family. I needed to offload my plane ticket and hatch a new plan, fast. I looked into flights back home to Australia, but tickets had the whopping and festive price tag of $4,000. I knew I wasnt $4,000 upset, so I looked to meet friends in Argentina instead. In the midst of my planning fluster, I couldnt help but think that someone else out there was is in the exact same boatthey were probably trying to sell their plane ticket, too. I then realized I had all this beautiful stuff that I just didnt want anymore. It was still perfectly nice, but it felt odd to hang on to. The seed of a very silly idea had been planted.

Weeks later, in a cozy bar in the East Village, I shared the concept for Never Liked It Anyway with friends (and martinis). Everyone laughed and then spilled stories of their own. One had a Turkish rug she picked up on holiday with her ex and had no idea what to do with it, another had a box of unwanted jewelry from her ex hidden under her bed (unbeknownst to her fiance), and another had a bass guitar she bought and played once after she and her ex had the pipe dream of starting a band. It seems breakups, and their collateral, are a universal thing.

Though it started as a website, Never Liked It Anyway is really an attitude. Its about bouncing back from adversity and committing to being the best version of youand this book is here to help you do just that. Moving on should be about taking action, and taking it fast. Its about throwing yourself back out there, back into the deep end, and shaking off that breakup funk; because action quiets the mind and propels you forward (and lets face ityour mind probably needs quieting right now). Over the next eight chapters, youll find a collection of quick and quirky challenges and pointless trivia to lose yourself in. Some of the challenges are simple, others are a little more complex, and all are designed to help you shake things up and step outside your default patterns. Here are some tips to help you on your way.